SOME ASPECTS OF THE ANGLO-EGYPTIAN CONDOMINIUM RULE IN SUDAN (1899-1914)

Although Sudan together with Egypt had been officially a part of Ottoman Empire, the country cameunder the joint administration of Anglo-Egyptian condominium rule in 1899. Afterwards, the British authoritiestried to separate Sudan from Egypt in terms of its political and administrative systems. They administered thecountry as a separate and autonomous region with the “condominium agreement” of 1899. Initially there was aBritish governor-general who came originly from military personnel. He was responsible for the administration ofthe country at the top level. Later on a civillian British governor-general was appointed to that post. Variousadministrative departments connected to the office of governor-general were created gradually, which hadresponsibility in the administration of the country. An advisory council attached to the governor-general’s officewas formed from senior officials to help him in administrative affairs. In addition, the British established the civil,financial and legal departments as well as the political and intelligence unit called as “Sudan agent”. All thedepartments were headed by the British officials at the top levels, while the Eyptian officials were working at thelower levels of the administration and their numbers were kept in a limited one. The proportion of local Sudaneseelements in the administration has been tried to gradually increase. The British followed a careful and balancedpolicy towards the local tribes and developed various ties with them. The native people so became more adoptableto accept the current system of administration, and they were encouraged to take over the posts at the lower levels.Although Sudan was depended initially on the Eyptian budget in terms of financial matters, it reached graduallyto a sufficient level to form its own budget. The Anglo-Eyptian condominium rule applied in the country beforethe First World War constituted a basis for Sudan's emergence as an independent state in the future.

___

  • Abbas, Mekki, The Sudan Question, Faber & Faber, London 1951. Abd al-Rahim, Muddathir, Imperialism and Nationalism in the Sudan, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1969. Arthur, George, Life of Lord Kitchener, Vol. I, Macmillan, London 1977. Bates, D., The Fashoda Incident of 1898, Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York 1984. Besher, M. O., The Southern Sudan: Background to Conflict, Khartum University Press, Khartum 1970. Bilgenoğlu, Ali, “İngiliz Sömürgeciliğinin Mısır ve Sudan Örneğinde Karşılaştırmalı bir Çözümlemesi”, Dokuz Eylül University, Graduate Institute of Social Sciences, Department of History, Unpublished Ph.D Thesis, İzmir 2013. Budge, E.A. Wallis, The Egyptian Sudan: Its History and Monuments, Vol. II, Kegan Paul, London 1907. Collins, R. O., Land Beyond the Rivers: The Southern Sudan, 1898-1919, Yale University Press, New Haven/London, 1971.